BTS member J-Hope mourned the loss of his grandmother while onstage in Tokyo with the K-pop band this week.
As reported by Billboard, the popular international act was performing at Tokyo Dome on Friday (April 17) when the 32-year-old announced his grandmother’s passing in front of thousands in attendance.
“Honestly, this might be a bit of a heavy thing to share, but I really wanted to express how I’m feeling today,” J-Hope said, as translated from Korean to English. “Right after we arrived in Japan, I got the news that my maternal grandmother — the one who raised me from when I was little — had passed away.”
The singer-rapper added that he was “in complete shock” and “didn’t know what to feel.”
“But being with the members, sharing a meal together and pouring myself into rehearsals helped ease that feeling more than I expected,” he continued.
J-Hope added that his late grandmother was “proud” of him and the rest of the group.
“She thought what we did was truly incredible,” he said. “So I’d like to think that if she was watching from up above today, she would have absolutely loved every moment of it.”
Last month, BTS released their sixth studio album, Arirang, their first project in five years, and are currently on tour to support the LP. The Arirang World Tour will last close to a year and will come to the United States in August, beginning with a stop at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on August 1, and concluding the U.S. leg on September 6 at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium.
